"When I hear another express an opinion, which is not mine, I say to myself, He has a right to his opinion, as I to mine; why should I question it. His error does me no injury, and shall I become a Don Quixot to bring all men by force of argument, to one opinion? If a fact be misstated, it is probable he is gratified by a belief of it, and I have no right to deprive him of the gratification."

Dude are you okay? I hope you recovery fast. totally sucks you have been derailed form your training, get well soon. the positives are you are well enough to post here and now have a opportunity to get a fancy new bike.

Don't get discouraged - time will fly and you'll be back on the bike and the accident will be a distant memory or a funny story.

I've been hit by six cars/trucks and knocked off my bike four of those times (in 40 years of daily riding). The worst one, in 1992, resulted in broken leg, thumb, and dislocated elbow. I was back on the bike in four weeks and have little residual problems. Another, 1986, was a head-on with a car turning left in front of me. Just bruises and a destroyed Bianchi - I was back on bike in a couple weeks with no residual problems.

Sometimes it took me a few months to mentally recover AFTER I started riding again but I now have no more sense of danger or apprehension than I did 30 years ago.

Legally speaking - a truck ran over me from behind while I was standing with my foot on the curb waiting for a RED light to turn so I could ride across the street. There were two pedestrians in the cross walk who testified that I was standing still waiting at the intersection. I sued for damages and won but then the judge reduced the damages 50% because "the cyclist should assume that vehicles on the road might not see them - he should get out of the road and stand on the sidewalk while waiting for the light" - that is contrary to state law and there was no sidewalk - just a curb and mud puddle. AND - he ruled that "since the injured bicyclist was back on his bike in less than a month it is apparent the damages were not serious" - despite me wearing a cast on my leg, a splint on my thumb and my orthopedic surgeon providing testimony to the extent of my injuries.

Another legal consideration - the guy who hit me head on was cited for failure to yield the right of way. I won several thousand dollars damages for the bicycle and medical expenses (both were way cheaper 26 years ago!) but the guy never payed me and I 'kinda forgot about the whole thing.

Three years later I got a certified letter from a state other than the one I live in. The drivers license people in that state told me the guy that owed me money had tried to get a new drivers license (he was a commercial driver) in their state and they saw that I had an unsettled judgement against the guy. They told me I could prevent him from renewing his license or acquiring a new license in any western US state if I wished.

They notified the guy of that fact - he contacted me and we settled on him paying me 50% of what he owed me. I then signed a release and he was able to get a new commercial license.

The bike is being appraised. My helmet, mirror, and glasses are absolute toast. There's a scary huge section of the helmet missing, and the paramedics outright stated that had I not been wearing it, I would be brain damaged or dead right now.

I will be retaining a lawyer in order to make sure I do everything properly and am well defended in case the offender decides they do not want to pay for the damage they have caused.

I truly wish I could write more about this but it is not in my legal interests to do so at the moment.

Second, i can tell you that the only person who wins in any legal battle on average is the lawyer. I suggest you see if the other party is willing to play nice prior to hiring anyone. You always have the right to do so later if things are not going your way.

I would not have said that. It can be made to sound like you didn't want to give details because it was your fault. That's how I would try to characterize it if I were an insurance defense lawyer. And I would ask where you made any written statements regarding the accident and whether you destroyed or deleted any such statements. Just sayin'.

I would not have said that. It can be made to sound like you didn't want to give details because it was your fault. That's how I would try to characterize it if I were an insurance defense lawyer. And I would ask where you made any written statements regarding the accident and whether you destroyed or deleted any such statements. Just sayin'.

Get well soon.

I disagree. Hes not saying anything for legal reasons - end of story. One of the more savvy victims IMHO. A dumb thing to have done would be to write every detail of the incident and delegate who was responsible. I dont see where he destroyed or deleted statements either.